Livestock rearing has a big potential for providing non-farm employment and income in rural areas. Discuss suggesting suitable measures to promote this sector in India.

3. Contract farming and Land leasing have been advocated by the policy makers in the last two to three years,i.e 2013 and 2014 .(Model APMC Act ,LARR Act,etc

In view of the declining average size of land holdings in India which has made agriculture non-viable for a majority of farmers, should contract farming and land leasing be promoted in agriculture? Critically evaluate the pros and cons.

4.Celebration of Digital India week and launch of a National Agricultural market online .

How can the ‘Digital India’ programme help farmers to improve farm productivity and income? What steps has the Government taken in this regards?

5.DBT has been in news since 2013.

In what way could replacement of price subsidy with Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) change the scenario of subsidies in India? Discuss.

6.Growth of ecommerce companies like flipkart and amazon in India. A report estimated the potential of Indian ecommerce market to be $300billion by 2030.

What are the impediments in marketing and supply chain management in industry in India? Can e-commerce help in overcoming these bottlenecks?

7.Gold Monetization Scheme launched.

Craze for gold in Indians have led to a surge in import of gold in recent years and put pressure on balance of payments and external value of rupee. In view of this, examine the merits of Gold Monetization Scheme.

8.Make in India ,Skill India and labour reforms have been continuously emphasized in the media.

“Success of ‘Make in India’ programme depends on the success of ‘Skill India’ programme and radical labour reforms.” Discuss with logical arguments.

To what factors can the recent dramatic fall in equipment costs and tariff of solar energy be attributed? What implications does the trend have for the thermal power producers and the related industry?

10. Special Economic Zones are set to lose tax incentives ,in the new approach of government.

There is a clear acknowledgement that Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are a tool of industrial development, manufacturing and exports. Recognizing this potential, the whole instrumentality of SEZs requires augmentation. Discuss the issues plaguing the success of SEZs with respect to taxation, governing laws and administration.

11.IRNSS 1-D launched in March 2015

What do you understand by ‘Standard Positioning Systems’ and ‘Protection Positioning Systems’ in the GPS era? Discuss the advantages India perceives from its ambitious IRNSS programme employing just seven satellites.

12.What are the areas of prohibitive labour that can be sustainably managed by robots? Discuss the initiatives that can propel research in premier research institutes for substantive and gainful innovation.

13.Major announcements by Microsoft,Google and IBM to use cloud computing services.

Discuss the advantage and security implications of cloud hosting of servers vis-a-vis in-house machine-based hosting for government businesses.

14.India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) which has a database containing formatted information on more than 2 million medicinal formulations is proving a powerful weapon in the country’s fight against erroneous patents. Discuss the pros and cons making this database publicly available under open-source licensing.

15.Efforts to preserve Ganga in news

The Namami Gange and National mission for clean Ganga (NMCG) programmes and causes of mixed results from the previous schemes. What quantum leaps can help preserve the river Ganga better than incremental inputs?

16.Nepal earthquake in April 2015, Earthquake in Hindukush in October 2015.

The frequency of earthquakes appears to have increased in the Indian subcontinent. However, India’s preparedness for mitigating their impact has significant gaps. Discuss various aspects.

17.Tripura withdraws AFSPA.

Amnesty International slams India on AFSPA in June 2015.

Human rights activists constantly highlight the view that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) is a draconian act leading to cases of human rights abuses by the security forces. What sections of AFSPA are opposed by the activists? Critically evaluate the requirement with reference to the view held by the Apex Court.

18.Paris attacks -November 2015

News reports on ISIS trying to woo youth through online sites.

Religious indoctrination via digital media has resulted in Indian youth joining the ISIS. What is ISIS and its mission? How can ISIS be dangerous for the internal security of our country?

The persisting drives of the government for development of large industries in backward areas have resulted in isolating the tribal population and the farmers who face multiple displacements with Malkangiri and naxalbari foci, discuss the corrective strategies needed to win the left wing extremism (LWE) doctrine affected citizens back into the mainstream of social and economic growth.

Although General Studies paper 1 contains conventional subjects ,around 50% of the paper was triggered by Current Affairs /The Hindu.

Here is an understanding of how -

1. 2015 - Celebration of 125th Birth Anniversary of BR Ambedkar and a resolution was passed in Parliament on the Constitution.

Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, despite having divergent approaches and strategies, had a common goal of amelioration of the downtrodden. Elucidate.

It would have been difficult for the Constituent Assembly to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India in just three years but for the experience gained with the Government of India Act, 1935. Discuss.

Friday, 25 December 2015

Here is the analysis of General Studies Paper 2 of Mains .This will help both the students who have written the exam and students who are preparing for the next attempt ,to understand how questions are being asked in UPSC.

The concept of cooperative federalism has been increasingly emphasized in recent years. Highlight the drawbacks in the existing structure and the extent to which cooperative federalism would answer the shortcomings.

In absence of a well-educated and organized local level government system, `Panchayats’ and ‘Samitis’ have remained mainly political institutions and not effective instruments of governance. Critically discuss.

Khap Panchayats have been in the news for functioning as extra-constitutional authorities, often delivering pronouncements amounting to human rights violations. Discuss critically the actions taken by the legislative, executive and the judiciary to set the things right in this regard.

A Khap panchayat in UP ordered rape of 2 sisters and it led to protests abroad and by Amnesty International.

The quality of higher education in India requires major improvements to make it internationally competitive. Do you think that the entry of foreign educational institutions would help improve the quality of higher and technical education in the country? Discuss.

The focus of the government in Budget 2015-2016 has shifted from primary education to higher education.

National Institutional ranking Framework was launched to improve the quality of higher educational institutions.

The Foreign Education Providers Bill and the Prohibition of Unfair Practices Bill has been on the priority list of the HRD Minister Smriti Irani.

Though there have been several different estimates of poverty in India, all indicate reduction in poverty levels over time. Do you agree? Critically examine with reference to urban and rural poverty indicators.

Resorting to ordinances has always raised concern on violation of the spirit of separation of powers doctrine. While noting the rationales justifying the power to promulgate ordinances, analyze whether the decisions of the Supreme Court on the issue have further facilitated resorting to this power. Should the power to promulgate ordinances be repealed?

President had questioned the government about the urgency of ordinance.

What are the major changes brought in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 through the recent Ordinance promulgated by the President? How far will it improve India’s dispute resolution mechanism? Discuss.

An Ordinance to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 was passed in december 2014,

Does the right to clean environment entail legal regulations on burning crackers during Diwali? Discuss in the light of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and Judgement(s) of the Apex Court in this regard.

Terrorist activities and mutual distrust have clouded India-Pakistan relations. To what extent the use of soft power like sports and cultural exchanges could help generate goodwill between the two countries? Discuss with suitable examples